Total beginner

System

I have no idea what I'm doing. Should I take the time to learn and build myself or get someone to do it for me. Have any of you tried any of these deleted by niel, see below? I am not really good at math or technical things, but I have construction experience and no problem building stuff. From what I looked at so far, I think I would be able to afford all of the supplies and everything.

i was going to allow this listing except that it singled out one in particular at the top with a .com address. there were complaints too and i had to act on it. next time you know it can't single out one in particular with the exception of naws as they are the sponsor of this forum.

icarus

Re: Total beginner

The first thing you have to do is define what it is that you are trying to do. Grid tie, off grid,, hybird system? What are you trying to achieve? Reduce your gird bill? Save money? Save the planet?

A few quick observations that will hold true throughout. Your cheapest energy dollar is conservation. Conservation first, followed by more conservation, and followed by still more conservation, then perhaps followed by solar hot water, and only then PV Solar.

Grid tie will come at a cost of ~$8-10 per watt before rebates,, off grid about double.
The bottom line, it isn't a cheap way to save money.

After you figure our what you wish to do, people here can steer you in the right directions.

Tony

niel

Re: Total beginner

as icarus said you have to know what your goals are and if they are reasonable enough for you to fulfill those goals. if you intend to do it yourself you had better take the time to learn far more than just what it is you hope to accomplish for you will need to be familiar with electricity, some electronics, electrical equipment, nec rules, local laws, etc. if you don't want to get that much depth of knowledge then you can pay somebody else the extra to make it all happen. you still need to educate yourself enough to know what it is you are getting and that it's right for you, but the more you know the less of a chance of you making a mistake in that choice. some installers may even cut you a small break by allowing you to do some of the labor, but this probably won't be huge or anywhere near the break you might think it is as they have to instruct you what to do, possibly supervise you doing it, and inspect it afterwards.
btw, the sponser of this forum is on that list and i'm sure you'll have no complaints with their abilities. northern arizona wind & sun. before you bother any installer, please get better aquainted with the subject matter by reading up on it here or even some of the stuff from home power magazine. they offer a free online pdf issue too.

Cariboocoot

Re: Total beginner

First piece of equipment for any solar system is a Kill-A-Watt meter.
Measure your existing loads and know what you're getting into.

peterako

Re: Total beginner

Smooth12, it is not nice to refer to a site in your first post that sales public know how. any connections there maybe.:grr

BB.

Re: Total beginner

I went ahead and deleted the posts/link and banned "smooth12"... Besides the first post "pimping" his own website--what it pointed to was a build your own panels "earth4energy" MLM (Multi-Level-Marketing) website which has its own issues (pretty close to a scamming site for way over promising and delivering little useful material for the $75 or whatever it is they charge).

You can find the e4e link and comments in this thread on Scams.

-Bill

peterako

Re: Total beginner

Thanks BB

I hope that you block as well " smooth12" in the future.:D

Greetings from Greece